Laundry drier

ABSTRACT

A laundry drier includes a drum which is mounted for rotation in two opposite directions. A plurality of elongated flexible lines are secured to the drum at axially spaced points and arranged to be wound onto the drum when it rotates in one direction and to be unwound when it rotates in the opposite direction. A biasing spring permanently urges the drum to rotate in the direction in which it winds up the lines. Arresting means is operable for arresting the drum from rotation in the direction unwinding the lines and actuating means is located axially adjacent one end of the drum and has limited freedom of movement axially of the drum between a first position in which it engages the drum for rotating the same, and a second position in which it is disengaged from the drum.

United. States Patent [72] Inventors Gunter Lelfheit;

Johannes Liehscher, both of Nassau/Lahn, Germany [21] Appl. No. 798,874[22] Filed Feb. 13, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 31, 1971 [73] AssigneeGunter Leitheit KG Nassau/Latin, Germany [32] Priority Feb. 15, 1968,Apr. 6, 1968 [33] Germany [31] P17 10 545.2 andP17 60 125.1

[54] LAUNDRY DRIER 12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs. 7

[52] US. Cl. 242/107, 211/l19.15, 242/100.1, 242/107.13, 242/1076 [51]Int. Cl B6Sh 75/48 [50] Field 01 Search 242/ 100.100.1,107,107.13,l07.4,107.6,107.7; 211/1l9.01, 119.02, 119.03,119.09,119.15

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,547,777 4/1951 Ray242/l07.4 UX

Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath Assistant ExaminerWerner H.Schroeder AttorneyMichael S. Striker ABSTRACT: A laundry drier includesa drum which is mounted for rotation in two opposite directions. Aplurality of elongated flexible lines are secured to the drum at axiallyspaced points and arranged to be wound onto the drum when it rotates inone direction and to be unwound when it rotates in the oppositedirection. A biasing spring permanently urges the drum to rotate in thedirection inwhich it winds up the lines. Arresting means is operable forarresting the drum from rotation in the direction unwinding the linesand actuating means is located axially adjacent one end of the drum andhas limited freedom of movement axially of the drum between a firstposition in which it engages the drum for rotating the same, and asecond position in which it is disengaged from the drum.

LAUNDRY DRIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesgenerally to laundry driers, and more particularly to the type oflaundry drier provided with one or more lines which may be extended forhanging laundry thereon for drying purposes.

Laundry driers of this type are already known. They suffer, however,from various disadvantages including their rather complicatedconstruction, the correspondingly expensive manufacture and assembly,and the susceptibility to mechanical malfunction which inevitablyresults in a complicated construction. Furthermore, the arrestingarrangements provided in these prior art constructions are complicatedand not entirely reliable. Such arresting arrangements in theseconstructions may arrest the line when it is desired to withdraw it fromthe device, and on the other hand, it may release the line when pull isexerted on it by laundry which has been hung on the line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the presentinvention to provide a laundry drier of the type mentioned above whichis not subject to the aforementioned disadvantages.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a laundry drierwhich is simple in its construction and therefore inexpensive tomanufacture.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such a laundry drierwhich is free from malfunctions and which requires no maintenance.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide such a laundry drierwhich is provided with reliably operating arresting means.

In pursuance of the above objects and others which will become apparenthereafter, one feature of the invention resides in the provision of thedevice of the type under discussion which comprises a drum mounted forrotation in a first and an opposite second direction, and at least oneelongated flexible line which is secured to the drum and is arranged tobe wound onto the latter when the drum rotates in the first directionand to be unwound when the drum rotates in the second direction. Biasingmeans is associated with the drum and permanently urges the same forrotation in the first direction. Arresting means is operable forarresting the drum front rotation in the second direction. Actuatingmeans is arranged axially adjacent one end of the drum and has limitedfreedom of movement axially of the latter between a first position inwhich it engages the drum for rotating the same, and a second positionin which it is disengaged from the drum.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectionthrough one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line IIII ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line IIIIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a component element of the device shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section, partly broken away, through a deviceaccording to our invention and illustrating a second embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but illustrating still anotherembodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing now the drawing indetail, and firstly the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 thereof, itwill be seen that the device in mm is identified with reference numeral10. It comprises at its opposite axial ends two end plates 11 and 12whose rearward portions 13 and 14 are angled in outward direction.Thepurpose of this is to secure the device 10 to a support, such as awall or the like, via the portions 13 and 14. These portions areprovided with openings 15, as illustrated in FIG. 4, through whichsecuring or mounting elements can be extended to be secured in thesupport, and it will be appreciated that the openings 15 may be of anydesired configuration, for example keyhole shaped.

A tubular support 18 is provided which is rigidly connected with the endplates 11 which for this purpose are provided .with central openings 16and 17, respectively, from whose circumference the projections 19 and 20extend substantially radially through cutouts 21 provided in the support18 and to prevent the same from rotation and from axial shiftingrelative to the end plates 11 and 12.

As shown in FIG. I, a helical spring 22 surrounds the support 18 and hasone end extended through a cutout 23 in the support I8 so as to beconnected with the latter. The other end of the spring 22 is connectedto a projection 24 of a coupling member 25 of substantially cup-shapedconfiguration so that the spring is prevented from rotating withreference to the coupling member 25. Parenthetically, it should bementioned that the spring could of course be of other than helicalconfiguration.

The coupling member 25 is provided with a collar 26 with which it isturnably mounted on the support 18; it further has an outwardly extendedregion 17 which accommodates one end of a drum 28 onto which the one ormore elongated lines are to be wound. A further element 29,corresponding substantially to the coupling element 25 and alsoturntably mounted on the support 18, is connected with the opposite endof the drum 28. The elements 25 and 29 are connected with the drum .28in such a manner as to rotate therewith but not relative thereto. Thisis in the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 accomplished by screws 30which extend through the drum 28 and into tapped bores of the elements25 and 29, these bores not beingspecifically illustrated. However, it isto be understood that other connections are possible, for instancepress-fitted connections or the like. Evidently, the member 29 couldalso be configurated in a different manner, if desired and this will beevident to those skilled in the art.

In the illustrated embodiment of plurality of elongated lines 31, whichmay consist of any suitable material such as rope, synthetic plasticmaterial or the like, are to be wound onto the drum 28. Their inner endsare connected to the drum 28 via lugs 32 portions of which extendthrough slots into the drum 28 and are connected thereto by screws 33.The opposite or free ends of the lines 31 are passed through holes in anelongated pull bar 34, as clearly shown in FIG. 2, and are securedtherein by knotting, as also seen in FIG. 2. It should be pointed outthat only a single one of the lines 31 is illustrated in the drawing,but this is done for the sake of clarity and several such lines areprovided in the illustrated embodiment.

The coupling element 25 has a radially extending peripheral portion 35abutting against the end plate 11 and is provided with cutouts 36 whichare arranged in identical spacing from the support 18 and into which acoupling portion 37 which is rigid with a handle 38, can selectively beextended. The handle 38, on the other hand, is turnably mounted via apin 38 or shaft 39 which extends into the support 18. As illustratedparticularly in FIG. 1, the shaft 39 is provided with a longitudinallyextending recess 40 one end of which merges with a circumferentiallyextending recess annulus 41. The projection 19 provided on the end plate11 extends into the annular recess 41 the latter being so dimensionedthat the shaft 39 and the .handle 38 are shiftable axially of the drum28 through a predetermined distance. The purpose of the elongated recess40 is to permit the introduction of shaft 39 to the the tubular support18 beyond the projection 19. In the illustrated embodiment the handle 38and the shaft 39 are of one piece, advantageously consisting ofsynthetic plastic material.

As particularly shown in FIG. 3, a collar 42 is provided on the handle38 and extends in direction towards the end plate 11, being providedwith an interior annulus of teeth 43. A pawl 44 is mounted at theexterior side of the end plate 11 tumably via the bolt 45, and theturning movement of the pawl 44 in the direction towards the annulus ofteeth 43 that is limited by an abutment 45 in such a manner that theengagement of the pawl with the teeth is just possible to the extentthat it can reliably prevent rotation of the handle 38 when suchengagement has taken place. The end plate 11 is provided with a curvedslot 46 which can register with the cutouts 36 of the coupling element25 and which is at its middle region enlarged. The coupling portion 37of the handle 38 extends through the curved slot 46 and, when the handle38 is moved to its axially inner position, the coupling portion 37 alsoextends into one of the cutouts 36 of the coupling element 25.

When the handle 38 is axially withdrawn to its axially outer position,the coupling portion 37 does not extend into any of the cutouts 36 ofthe coupling element 25, but still extends into the curved slot 46. Thisis clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. When the handle 38 is withdrawn toits axially outer position, it is no longer coupled with the drum 28 sothat the lines 31 can be withdrawn from the latter by exerting pull onthe pull bar 34. This results in tensioning of the spring 22 because ofthe fact'that the opposite ends thereof are respectively coupled withthe support 18 and the drum 28. When the lines 31 have been withdrawn tothe desired extent, the pull bar 34 may be connected to a suitablesupport, such as a wall or the like, via a handle portion 47 (compareFIG. 2) which is retractable into the pull bar.

When this has taken place, and it should be understood that it can takeplace because the handle 38 is moved to its axially outer position inwhich at the same time the annulus of teeth 43 is so far spaced from thepawl 43 that they do not engage, the handle 38 is turned in a sense inwhich the linesare further unwound until the end position is reachedwhich is determined by cooperation of the coupling portion 37 and thecurved slot 46. Thereupon, the handle 38 is moved to its axially innerposition so that the coupling portion 37 also extends through one of thecutouts 36 in the coupling element 25 whereupon the handle 38 is turnedin opposite direction, that is in a sense winding the lines 31 onto thedrum 28 until the lines have been tensioned to the desired extent. Asthis turning movement takes place the annulus of teeth 43 moves belowthe pawl 44 in a sense in which there is no engagement between the two.Once the desired tensioning of the lines 31 has been obtained with this,turning of the handle 38 in a sense in which the lines 31 could be againunwound from the drum 28 is prevented by the fact that in the axiallyinner position of the handle 38 the pawl 44 cooperated with the teeth ofthe annulus 43. Thus, the device will maintain the lines 31 tightened asdesired. It will be appreciated from the drawing that the arrangement ofthe pawl 44 below the opening 16 is such that when the device isproperly arranged in the manner in which it is intended to be used, thefree end of the pawl 44 will cooperate with the teeth of the annulus 43.

While the lines 31 are to be rewound onto the drum 28, the handle 38 isaxially shifted to its axially outer position, whereby the cooperationbetween the pawl 44 and the teeth of the annulus 43 is interrupted,while simultaneously the cooperation between the handle 38 and the drum28 via the coupling element 25 is terminated. This permits the spring 22to rotate the drum 28 in a sense winding the lines 31 back onto the drum28.

A housing is provided consisting of shell sections 48 and 49 which serveto protect the components of the device located between the end plates11 and 12. The shell sections 48 and 49 extend from one to the other ofthe end plates 11 and 12 and are secured thereto in suitable mannerwhich is not specifically illustrated. The rear side of the housing,that is the side which will normally face a support on which the deviceis to be secured, is substantially open and covered only by angledmarginal portions 50 and 51 of the shell sections 48 and 49. The drawingshows that the marginal portion 50 of the upper shell section 48 isdownwardly and outwardly inclined and that the marginal portions 51 ofthe lower shell section 49 approximately parallels the inclination ofthe marginal portion 50 whereby, as clearly shown in FIG. 2, themoisture running off the other side of the housing is prevented fromrunning into the interior of the housing.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the front side. of the device, that is the sideat which the line or lines are extended, is provided with a recess foraccommodating the pull bar 34. The recess is identified with referencenumeral 52 and the end plates 11 and 12 are provided with two lugs 53and 54 constituted by portions of the end plates 11 and 12 which arecutouts cutor stamped out and bent inwardly at a substantially rightangle, as shown. The lugs are located one behind the other and spacedfrom one another at a distance corresponding to the breadth of the pullbar 34. The foremost lugs 53 are so dimensioned and arranged that whenthe pull bar 34 is located in the recess 52,-they are locatedsubstantially in the plane of its outer face, whereas the rearmost lugs54 are longer and serve as abutments for the pull bar 34. Thearrangement of the shell sections 48 and 49 is such, as illustrated inthe drawing, that no moisture can enter into the housing through or inthe region of the recess 52 either.

Caps 55 and 56 of nonoxidizable material, such as synthetic plasticmaterial or the like, serve to cover the end plates 11 and 12. As thedrawing shows, the cap 55 is provided with an opening through which theannulus 42 of the member 38 can just pass, and is provided with anoutwardly extending collar 57 which extends beyond the annulus 42 to theoutside. The collar 57 may also serve to guide the handle 28, ifnecessary and desired. The second cap, the one identifiedwith referencenumeral 56, is not so apertured. The caps 55 and 56 can be secured insuitable manner to the end plates 11 and 12, for instance by screwthreads or the like to the end plates. Recesses 58 are provide in thecaps 55 and 56 in those edge portions thereof which face the lugs 13 and14 of the end plates 11 and 12 and which embrace projections 59 providedon these lugs so as to afford proper alignment and quick assembly.

Coming, finally, to the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, andmore particularly that of FIG. 5, it will be seen that the embodiment ofFIG. 5 is in most respects similar to that of FIGS. 1-4, with identicalreference numerals identifying identical components. It is emphasizedthat certain portions are omitted, that is those portions that are shownin FIG. 1 at the left-hand side thereof, because they are identical withthe ones shown in FIG. 1. The embodiment in FIG. 5 differs, as will beseen, from that of FIG. 1 in that the pin 60 shown herein is providedwith an elongated annular recess 61 bounded by annular shoulders 62 and63. The recess 61 straddles a tubular portion 64 which is stationarilymounted in the member 65 and which is shorter than the length of therecess 61 to permit axial shifting of the pin 60 and the handle 38associated with it. Axial movement of the handle 38 is limited bycooperation of the tubular portion 64 with the annular shoulder 63 whereaxial withdrawal of the handle 38 is concerned. Beyond the annularshoulder 63 thepin 60 conically tapers towards its end, as shown. Thepin 60 is hollow and provided with a longitudinal slot 66 extendinginwardly from its end and approximately to the middle of the recess 61.The pin 60 in this embodiment consists of springy material which makespossible its introduction into the member 65 even if the tubular portion64 is stationarily mounted previously, because when the pin 60 isinserted, the ribs 67 are inwardly deflected to the diameter of thetubular portion 64 when they engage, on introduction of the pin 60, theconical surfaces 68 provided for this purpose. A withdrawal of the pin60, on the other hand, is precluded-insofar as unintentional withdrawalis concerned-by cooperation with the annular shoulder 63 with thejuxtaposed end face of the tubular portion 64.

The embodiment of FIG. 6, finally, differs from the precedingembodiments in that the diameter of the pin 71 associated with thehandle 38 corresponds substantially to the outer diameter of the member70 corresponding to the member 65 in FIG. 5. In the end regions themember 70 is provided with radially projecting hooks 72 which extendinto longitudinal slots 73 provided on the member 70. The pin 71 ishollow, as in the embodiment of FIG. 5, and provided with one or moreslots 74 extending inwardly from its end and making possible an elasticdeflection in the region of the hooks 72. This makes it possible tointroduce the pin 71 into the member 70 without any difficulty. As soonas the regions of the pin 71 which are provided with the hooks andelastically inwardly bent on such introduction, perched therewith thelongitudinal slots 73 of the member 70, these regions of the pin 71return to their original undeformed condition of the springycharacteristic of the material of the pin 71 so that the hooks 72 engagein the slots 73. The latter are longer than the-hooks 72 which makespossible the withdrawal of the pin 71 together with the handle 38 untilthe hooks 72 abut against the edge faces bounding the ends of the slots73.

It should be emphasized that the illustrated embodiments are by way ofexample only and are not to be considered limiting in any sense. It isclear that modifications may be made and such modifications will offerthemselves readily to those skilled in the art. By way of explanation,it might be pointed out that the handle may be separate from theassociated pin and secured thereto in releasable manner, rather thanbeing of one piece therewith. Also, other modifications are possible,such as use of one or more spiral springs in place of a helical springs,in the replacement of the tubular support member with individual supportmembers for opposite ends of the.

device which are respectively associated with one of the plates andwherein each such individual support member serves to turnably supportone end of the drum, only one support member having to be hollow toaccommodate the pin of the respective handle. It should again beemphasized that other modifications are possible beyond those which havebeen indicated here.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

It will be understood that each of the elements described as embodied ina laundry drier, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:

1. A device of the character described, particularly a laundry drier,comprising in combination, a drum mounted for rotation in a first and anopposite second direction and including tubular support means supportingsaid drum for such rotation; at least one elongated flexible linesecured to said drum and arranged to be wound onto the latter when saiddrum rotates in said first direction, and to be unwound when said drumrotates in said second direction; biasing means permanently urging saiddrum for rotation in said first direction;

actuating means arranged axially adjacent one end of said 7 drum forrotating the same; arresting means for arresting said drum againstrotation in said second direction; and cooperating abutment meansprovided on said support means and said actuating means, said abutmentmeans including abutment portions provided on said support means andspread resiliently compressible hook portions provided on said actuatingmeans and arranged to cooperatively engage with said abutment portionsand at least limit displacement of said actuating means with referenceto said drum.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, said actuating means being movable toand from a position engaging said drum for rotation, and said drum andsaid actuating means being provided with cooperating coupling portionsarranged to interengage with each other when said actuating means ismoved to said position.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, said biasing means including ahelical spring coaxial with said drum and having an end portion rigidwith the same.

4. A device as defined in claim 1, said support means being providedwith slots into which said hook portions extend and which constitutesaid abutment portions.

5. A device as defined in claim 1, said actuating means having a shaftmounted for turning movement coaxially with said drum and shiftableaxially relative thereto, said shaft being provided in its peripherywith an axially elongated recess; and further comprising a projection onsaiddrum extending into said recess for limiting the extent of movementof said actuating means.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, said drum including an end plateextending transversely to its axis and provided with said recess, andsaid recess including an elongated first portion and an annular secondportion merging with one end of said first portion.

7. A device as defined in claim 5, said actuating means furtherincluding a handle adapted to be gripped by the fingers of a user, andsaid handle being rigid with said shaft.

8. A device as defined in claim 7, said handle being of one piece withsaid shaft.

9. A device as defined in claim 1; further comprising a housing mountingsaid drum for rotation; and wherein said arresting means includes atleast one first arresting portion provided on said actuating means ofone piece therewith, and at least one second arresting portion providedon said housing, at least one of said arresting portions being movablewith reference to the other into and out of arresting engagement withthe same.

10. A device as defined in claim 9, said first arresting portion beingconfigurated as an internal annulus of teeth, and said second arrestingportion comprising a pawl arranged to cooperate with the teeth of saidannulus.

11. A device as defined in claim 10; and further comprising an abutmentassociated with said pawl for limiting the movements thereof.

12. A device as defined in claim 1, said line having a free end portion;and further comprising a pull bar secured to said free end portionarranged to be gripped by a user for exerting pull on said line tothereby unwind the same from said drum by effecting rotation of thelatter in said second direction in response to such a pull.

1. A device of the character described, particularly a laundry drier,comprising in combination, a drum mounted for rotation in a first and anopposite second direction and including tubular support means supportingsaid drum for such rotation; at least one elongated flexible linesecured to said drum and arranged to be wound onto the latter when saiddrum rotates in said first direction, and to be unwound when said drumrotates in said second direction; biasing means permanently urging saiddrum for rotation in said first direction; actuating means arrangedaxially adjacent one end of said drum for rotating the same; arrestingmeans for arresting said drum against rotation in said second direction;and cooperating abutment means provided on said support means and saidactuating means, said abutment means including abutment portionsprovided on said support means and spread resiliently compressible hookportions provided on said actuating means and arranged to cooperativelyengage with said abutment portions and at least limit displacement ofsaid actuating means with reference to said drum.
 2. A device as definedin claim 1, said actuating means being movable to and from a positionengaging said drum for rotation, and said drum and said actuating meansbeing provided with cooperating coupling portions arranged tointerengage with each other when said actuating means is moved to saidposition.
 3. A device as defined in claim 1, said biasing meansincluding a helical spring coaxial with said drum and having an endportion rigid with the same.
 4. A device as defined in claim 1, saidsupport means being provided with slots into which said hook portionsextend and which constitute said abutment portions.
 5. A device asdefined in claim 1, said actuating means having a shaft mounted forturning movement coaxially with said drum and shiftable axially relativethereto, said shaft being provided in its periphery with an axiallyelongated recess; and further comprising a projection on said drumextending into said recess for limiting the extent of movement of saidactuating means.
 6. A device as defined in claim 5, said drum includingan end plate extending transversely to its axis and provided with saidrecess, and said recess including an elongated first portion and anannular second portion merging with one end of said first portion.
 7. Adevice as defined in claim 5, said actuating means further including ahandle adapted to be gripped by the fingers of a user, and said handlebeing rigid with said shaft.
 8. A device as defined in claim 7, saidhandle being of one piece with said shaft.
 9. A device as defined inclaim 1; further comprising a housing mounting said drum for rotation;and wherein said arresting means includes at least one first arrestingportion provided on said actuating means of one piece therewith, and atleast one second arreSting portion provided on said housing, at leastone of said arresting portions being movable with reference to the otherinto and out of arresting engagement with the same.
 10. A device asdefined in claim 9, said first arresting portion being configurated asan internal annulus of teeth, and said second arresting portioncomprising a pawl arranged to cooperate with the teeth of said annulus.11. A device as defined in claim 10; and further comprising an abutmentassociated with said pawl for limiting the movements thereof.
 12. Adevice as defined in claim 1, said line having a free end portion; andfurther comprising a pull bar secured to said free end portion arrangedto be gripped by a user for exerting pull on said line to thereby unwindthe same from said drum by effecting rotation of the latter in saidsecond direction in response to such a pull.